What If?
by Smokestep
Summary: In the midst of the ominous crisis on ARK, the situation could've taken different turns, with each road leading to a different finale, whether it be chaotic or harmonious, joyful or solemn. Only the curtain call will tell. Changing one little detail can have a big effect, and this one should make a huge difference.


**What If?**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any Sonic characters.

**Smokestep: **Like I said in the description. Has to do with Sonic Adventure 2, mainly the last story, Sonic, and Shadow. But it's not exactly like the game, since there are a few changes. I got the idea for these changes from a video on YouTube, but I did prolong the story for longer than the actual video was, so I didn't copy everything. I'll tell the name of the video in the note at the bottom, but don't read it before you read the story, or you'll spoil it.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>§ Eggman §<strong>

"Eclipse Cannon, FIRE!"

Eggman's hand smashed down hard on the button and he stood back, gazing at the shining Chaos Emeralds with a triumphant expression.

But then the Chaos Emeralds, in unison, stopped glowing, and the Cannon shut down. The next second, the number 00:27:53 appeared on every screen in Space Colony Ark, along with the image of Gerald Robotnik, Eggman's grandfather, chained to a chair, looking down steadily. At the recognition of his relative, Eggman exclaimed "Grandpa!", his voice full of surprise. Then Gerald Robotnik's voice rang out, loudly and clearly through the Space Colony, with almost no emotion except for cold triumph.

"The countdown marking my final revenge on this world has begun! In just a few minutes, you will be destroyed. Soon, Space Colony ARK will hurtle through the atmosphere and crash into this planet at a cataclysmic force!"

After that brief speech was over, the countdown began, the numbers reducing at an incredible speed. With only twenty-seven minutes left, no one could do anything to prevent this disaster.

"You have absolutely no hope of survival," Gerald continued. "Your rulers took my granddaughter, Maria, from me. She meant everything to me! So I'm destroying everything you care about. Now you'll feel what I felt when I lost Maria."

The humans on Earth, and the captives trapped on the Space colony listened with deaf ears, appalled at Robotnik's words, but the professor was not done yet.

"You'll see," he muttered in an impassive voice. "You'll see . . ."

"Who is that guy?" Amy asked from behind Eggman, terror apparent in her troubled and scared gaze. "What does he mean?"

"That is Professor Gerald Robotnik, my grandfather. He was a scientific genius." Eggman answered, staring at the screen, remembering what he had read in his grandfather's diary.

About how he began working on the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow, the same hedgehog he used to find out information about the Eclipse Cannon. About how military guards landed on the colony, sent to destroy his research project, and how the colony was completely shut down, thanks to his research.

Almost everyone had died, including Maria, and those who lived couldn't say a word. The government wanted to keep it a secret, and they succeed for a respectable amount of time.

And afterward, all his grandfather wanted was to avenge Maria. He went insane, and couldn't think clearly. Everyone who knew him well feared what would happen, and they knew about his research project. They didn't know its purpose, and that's what they were afraid of. Before, it was so he could cure Maria, so she could go to Earth, but after . . . Eggman found out after reading an entry in his diary, and he wasn't exactly shocked at what he read.

The space colony started vibrating brutally, catching everyone off guard. And Gerald Robotnik's speech repeated itself, over and over again. Words ringing in everyone's ears and haunting their minds. They wouldn't have much time to think anyway.

After all, Eggman had always thought he'd accomplish more in life. That was why, after every battle, he made it through. No matter how much Sonic pushed, he'd never go down, until now.

And even then, he'd regretted killing said hedgehog, even though everyone would soon be joining him. _Well, if Sonic has to go down_, Eggman thought, raising a brow, _he has to take me with him. Besides, taking over this world would be too easy, I suppose . . ._

"It feels like this place is falling apart," Knuckles yelled, looking around the room and fighting to keep his balance, as everyone was.

"It's going to get a lot worse," Rouge predicted as she entered the room, her sensitive ears picking up the guardian's exclamation. "The computers are locked, so we can't change course. Looks like there's nothing we can do."

Tails and Amy exchanged a hopeless glance.

"Grandpa, destroying a planet is one thing, but destroying your grandson is another," Eggman muttered, defiant at the thought that Gerald was willing to kill him to get revenge.

"What's going on?" Sonic called to Eggman as he walked into the room where everyone was gathered, a faint trace of anger in eyes. Eggman was genuinely surprised to see him alive, but he didn't show it.

"You're pretty persistent for a hedgehog, aren't you? But if you came here for a showdown, Sonic, then forget it! Soon we'll all be vaporized anyway," Eggman told his archenemy as he stood up from his chair and turn around to face Sonic.

"Come on, don't be such a quitter, Eggman," Sonic said confidently, walking forward a few paces. "Maybe, if we work together, we can get out of this mess." How could he be so optimistic?

But still, Eggman considered his enemy's words for a moment before he pulled out a laptop. "Well, when I hacked into the database on Prison Island, I found my grandfather's diary," he revealed, handing his laptop to Sonic, which the hedgehog somewhat reluctantly took.

"Revenge. That's all that matters to me now," he read aloud so everyone could hear. Him and his audience could almost imagine Gerald saying it himself, as Sonic had had read it with the perfect tone of voice. "I only wanted to do good. That's why I worked to make the ultimate creature. But the leaders of the project worried that I would use it to take over the world -"

"Sounds like someone else I know," Knuckles said under his breath, and threw a glance of resentment at Eggman. The evil scientist glared back at him.

"- so they seized my lab on Space Colony ARK," Sonic continued, ignoring the interruption with so much as an ear twitch. "Then they took Maria from me, and my life took on a new purpose. Instead of helping people, I wanted revenge. Night and day I planned, so long after I am gone, my revenge would be fulfilled. I've finally done it. My greatest design has been complete. Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform, its mind designed to be perfect, pure. My enemies think they defeated me, but Shadow will carry out my orders without question. For now it sleeps, but one day in the future, it will awaken. If you wish, release and awaken him. He will bring total destruction."

As Sonic finished reading the professor's entries, everyone heard a clicking sound from the screen once more, and when they faced it, Gerald was revealing more information to the world.

"In the coming minutes as you helplessly await your doom . . ." his voice faded out, preventing everyone on the space colony to hear what he had to say, though the message continued on Earth.

Eggman shook his head, and, grabbing his laptop from Sonic, used it to figure out any possible way of avoiding the coming collision, as his enemy had suggested. He wasn't particularly hopeful, but he might as well do something. He did find one piece of information pretty quickly though. "The energy from the Chaos Emeralds has transformed the Eclipse Cannon into a bomb. If it detonates, the blast will be massive." he explained to the others, a gleam of realization shining in the gaze belonging to the fox with almost as much intelligence as himself.

"The energy from the Chaos Emeralds is also what is pushing us to the planet," a distressed Tails put in. "We have to get to the emeralds and deactivate them."

"Knuckles!" Sonic exclaimed, and everyone faced Knuckles as the echidna asked, "Wait, why me?"

"Because, you can control all the Chaos Emeralds with that," Rouge explained, pointing at a giant, glowing green rock behind Knuckles, otherwise known as the Master Emerald. Knuckles protected it, and therefore he can use it to neutralize the Chaos Emeralds' power. Its guardian glanced at it for a few moments, precious time they were wasting, but he was the only one who could do it. And he has to take in all the cautionary details before agreeing to anything - stupid echidna's so scared that something's going to happen to the Master Emerald.

But he finally spoke, much to everyone's relief, in an approving tone, though he didn't look entirely happy at the situation. "Well, I can use it to stop the emeralds, so I suppose you have a point," he begrudgingly consented, nodding reluctantly, all the while glancing at Eggman with a hint of anger that'd be sure to remind him they weren't partners. Eggman defiantly gazed back, unimpressed to say the least.

Tails, now enthusiastic and hopeful as ever, calculated the statistics, ignoring the stare-down. "There's still time to stop the space colony from crashing, but we've got to hurry. We'll only reach the Chaos Emeralds if we work together." He was right, though Eggman wished he was the first to say it. He didn't like being upped by a fox, most especially the _sidekick. _Though he is quite a threat now, but still.

"I'll lead the way," Sonic quickly volunteered, his confidence radiating to everyone else, giving them hope. He had that effect on most people. "Stay on my heels and try to keep up the pace." He paused, a carefully neutral glint in his eyes as he turned to a special pink hedgehog, gazing at him with a trusting gaze. "But, Amy, I think you should stay here," he suggested, looking directly into Amy's eyes.

Amy opened her mouth for a protest, but nothing came out. She wanted to help them, but she thankfully knew it'd be better to stay anyway, and she couldn't say no to a direct request from Sonic. _She would slow everyone down anyway, _Eggman thought disdainfully to himself, carefully biting the words back from exiting his mouth.

With little hesitation, Amy nodded and said with a hint of admiration, "Good luck. I know you can do it." Eggman knew her words were mostly directed at Sonic, and wondered if said hedgehog even loved her back, narrowing his eyes behind his glasses. But now wasn't the time to think about their seemingly one-sided relationship.

"Then, let's get to those Chaos Emeralds before it's too late!" he commanded. At that exclamation, everyone blasted towards the first hallway that would lead to the core, the evil scientist last, despite how fast he ran for someone his weight.

* * *

><p><strong>§ Sonic §<strong>

As they were making their way through the shortcut that would lead them to the cannon's core, Sonic in the lead as promised, Eggman reminded them of their mission. "Remember, if we fail, an entire planet will perish, and so will we."

Knuckles was right behind the cobalt hero, Tails and Rouge following close behind, and Eggman bringing up the rear.

He secretly hoped his act of confidence would be enough. Truth be told, he was pretty nervous, despite his positive attitude. Eggman was right; if they failed, everything would be lost. Failure's not an option here.

The hallway they were currently in ended, a door leading to the next corridor. It was a purely reinforced steel door, very thick, and hard to break through. Well, no one could say the Ark didn't have a good defense system, but right now, it was in their way.

Skidding to a stop, Knuckles and Rouge, at a prompting glance from Sonic, launched themselves at the door, both releasing their strongest punches and kicks, Rouge gaining elevation with her wings before diving down to hit the door with full force.

The door broke down relatively easily, falling down with a loud, echoing '_thud_', as Rouge gracefully landed down on the floor on the other side, and Knuckles arrogantly puffed out his chest. Sonic couldn't resist rolling his eyes, but his self-control did stop him from outright laughing at the echidna for thinking so highly of such a small act.

But after that door was out of the way, everyone ran or flew forward, spotting an even bigger door waiting at the end of the hall, too large and wide for anyone to break through. Spying levers on the other side of the room, Tails notified everyone else and flew over to them. He halted as a dozen or so robots appeared and directed their lasers on the young fox.

Rouge and Eggman sprang right into action as Sonic and Knuckles ran over to the door, dodging lasers aimed at them, Sonic putting on a show, totally trying to outdo Knuckles shining moment. While echidna himself simply ducked, jumped, or swerved to the side.

Rouge kicked through a couple of the robots with practiced ease, while Eggman punched them with strength Sonic didn't know he had.

Tails flew over to levers while all the robots were distracted and pushed it up with all the strength he had, for it was nearly impossible to move, from being abandoned for so long. But, either with a stroke of luck, or sudden burst of strength, Tails forced it up, and the door ascended up into the ceiling.

But with the opened pathway came a flood of what seemed like polluted water. Knuckles punched the wall, and grabbed Sonic's wrist, the other stiff as he terrifyingly eyed the wave coming toward him. Seeing that look of pure terror on his face, Knuckles wondered if he could even comprehend how much water frightened Sonic. After all, this is a guy that fights robots on a daily basis, but against water, he gets all choked up.

While Tails hung on the lever with his life, Rouge and Eggman ran over to join him, grabbing a few of the other levers, Eggman barely making it as the giant wave raced past them, soaking them to the bone, and almost taking Rouge with it when her hand almost slipped off.

Sonic and Knuckles, being the closest to the door, noticed that it was closing again, and about to slam on the floor, and scrambled to their feet, and slid under the door as it smashed onto the ground. The others helplessly stared at the spot where the door closed, knowing there was nothing they could do now, but wait, and leave it up to Sonic and Knuckles. Nonetheless, they picked themselves up, cast one more glance at the door, and made their way back to where they left Amy.

* * *

><p><strong>§ Amy §<strong>

Amy, looking out the window and admiring the planet's beauty, as this could be her last chance to do so, jumped when she heard footsteps from behind her. She turned around, dreading the worst, but instead saw Shadow, glaring at her with a scowl on his face. Even if he wasn't the worst, he was pretty high up there. But they may need him . . .

He walked over to the window slowly, stopping next to the pink hedgehog, crossing his arms, and stared out at the Earth for a few seconds, his expression unreadable.

Taking her one and only chance, Amy pleaded on behalf of everyone risking their lives, and those who were powerless to do anything. "Shadow, we need you! Why won't you help us?" Sonic would've completely disowned her if he saw her now, but she had no choice.

"It's all going according to plan. There's no reason for me to help them. Besides, there's no way to save anyone," he responded, not even bothering to glance at Amy, instead keeping his cold stare on the planet below. Amy half-thought this was what he wanted, but would he really want to die?

Taking a deep breath, Amy attempted to reason with him again. It may take a while, but if anyone could get Shadow to change his mind, it was her. "Look, I know people fight over the most pointless things sometimes. And some people may be selfish like Professor Gerald said, but not everyone is like that. But most people are good. They don't care to steal from other people, or hurt anyone else. They just chase their dreams, and always have a reason to be happy. _That's_ why you should help save them. Please do it for them, give them a chance."

At Amy's words, Shadow remembered what Maria had said to him before they parted.

"Shadow . . . please promise me, that you'll . . . help people . . . and be friends with them," Maria whispered, finding it hard to get her breath back. She paused, lowering her raised hand back to the floor she was laying on.

"Maria!" Shadow called worriedly from inside a capsule. He fought to get out, to help Maria. But his kicks, and punches, and chaos powers weren't enough to break out. She looked so vulnerable, yet all she cared about were the people on that planet. And him.

"I'm sure you'll be very happy down there, Shadow," Maria continued, smiling sadly, her eyes starting to tear up. "I only wished I could go along with you. The world looks so beautiful from up here in space. But my grandfather says that the people who live down there have to face many problems. That's why you were created; to help those people. And, to be their friend."

"Shadow?"

Amy's voice broke through Shadow's thoughts and brought him back to the present. His ears twitched, indicating he had heard her.

"That's what I promised her," Shadow mumbled, half talking to himself instead of the pink hedgehog next to him.

"Huh? Who?" Amy asked him, an all-too-apparent note of curiosity in her voice.

"Maria. And I've got to keep my promise to her. She did want me to help the world," he explained simply as he sprinted away, instead of skating away, leaving Amy to smile softly. Whoever Maria was, she helped him do the right thing.

* * *

><p>At the end of the long hall Sonic and Knuckles were running through, the guardian slowed down considerably with the Master Emerald acting like a deadweight , there was an enormous chamber. In the middle there was a body of unnatural water, and behind it was a shrine that looked kind of like the one on Angel Island. Around it, the Chaos Emeralds glowed brightly, showing off their magnificence.<p>

"Up there," Knuckles informed Sonic, though the hero had already spotted the shrine.

Just as they were about to approach it, there was a loud roar coming from above, and a lizard-dragon type thing dropped down and landed in the water, splashing up giant waves that scarcely missed the aquaphobic hedgehog. It bellowed again, lifting its head up high into the air.

As Sonic dropped into a fighting stance, and Knuckles gently placing the Master Emerald down, Shadow entered the room and walked up next to them.

"Leave that thing for me," he insisted as Sonic ears twitched in surprise when he recognized whose voice it was. But then the blue hedgehog rolled his eyes. Why did he want to help them _now_?

"You two take care of the Chaos Emeralds, and I'll distract it."

When Sonic hesitated, Shadow turned to face him, silent as ever. The two hedgehogs stared at each other for a few seconds, Sonic's gaze full with uncertainty, and Shadow's unreadable as ever. But then Sonic nodded, agreeing with Shadow's plan. After the cobalt hero gave that small signal, Shadow ran off in the direction of the Biolizard.

"Let's go," Sonic told Knuckles, and they both started running around the giant monster, Sonic being extremely cautious to avoid the water, with Knuckles following suit, holding the Master Emerald high above his head.

Shadow jumped in the air and spin-dashed into the Biolizard's skin, but when he saw it caused no damage, backed off, planning his next form of attack.

The Biolizard howled in defiance, and shot fireballs out of its mouth, aiming for the black hedgehog facing it. Shadow dodged all of them with relative ease by dodging to the side, and leaped into the air again, this time attempting to damage the giant monster by directing a chaos spear at the machine on its back. Seeing as how the gadget exploded, his attack had done a massive amount of damage. No wonder it was only the prototype, it was no match for him.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles had made it to the alter and were now climbing up the steps to the shrine. Knuckles set down the Master Emerald in the middle and began to recite the ancient words his tribe had said to use the Master Emerald's power.

"I must remember the seven Chaos Emeralds are the servers. Our hearts intensify their power. The controller serves to unify the chaos." Raising his hands up into the air, Knuckles resumed. "Master Emerald, I need you to help me. Please stop the Chaos Emeralds."

The Master Emerald reacted to its guardian's words by shining even brighter than before.

Then, on cue and in unison, the Chaos Emeralds stopped glowing and fell to the floor, with Knuckles looking highly pleased with himself, Sonic actually not retorting with a smart remark for once.

The Biolizard had resulted to forming red spheres of energy in the air and then directing them towards Shadow. But instead of dodging, Shadow jumped from one energy sphere to another, and when he was above the Biolizard's machine again, he spin dashed into it.

The Biolizard let out a loud roar, and then it disappeared, causing Sonic and Knuckles to turn around sharply. "It's gone!" Knuckles exclaimed bewilderedly.

They were greeted with Shadow teleporting in front of them. "It's Chaos Control," he explained, seeing Knuckle's confused face at the disappearance of the monster.

All three felt a sudden trembling again, except this time it was far stronger than before.

"Come in, Sonic. Do you read me?" Eggman said over a loudspeaker. "That monster is still alive. It attached itself to the outside of the space colony. It's pulling us toward the planet."

So, they still had a couple more things to do, even though they already deactivated the Chaos Emeralds. And there was only one more thing to stop.

Sonic and Shadow shared a glance, and both hedgehogs immediately knew what they had to do, and Sonic jumped down next to Shadow. They both closed their eyes, concentrating hard on the task at hand.

The seven Chaos Emeralds shone again as they levitated in the air and encircled the two hedgehogs. They started spinning around them, getting faster and faster with each second. They stopped as the two heroes opened their eyes. Both of the hedgehogs' fur had turned golden, except for the red stripes on Shadow's quills. Sonic's eyes had changed from emerald green to a deep shade of amber mixed in with a dash of light brown, while Shadow's remained the same.

Using their newly gained powers, they both teleported out of the space colony to the outside of it. They were met by the same monster Shadow had distracted, except now it was stronger. It fired a beam at them from its mouth, but, fortunately, both hedgehogs dodged.

"Let's give it our best shot," Shadow told Sonic.

"Alright. We can go in at full speed and finish it off," Sonic called back to him. With that said, both shot off in the direction of the monster.

They rammed into the Finalhazard's head at full throttle, causing some key damage and pain to the monster. Sonic and Shadow could faintly hear everyone trapped in the space colony, encouraging them to do their best.

The monster kept firing beams at the two heroes, blocking their chance to attack it, and stalling time out as they steadily got closer to the Earth's atmosphere, and by that time it'd be too late. But, as it was aiming at Shadow, Sonic rushed into its side, causing it to stop its attack. Shadow, getting the message, landed another blow on it. Then they both hit the machine on its back, and it howled in pain.

At this point the Space Colony ARK was barely in the Earth's atmosphere, initiating a burst of speed.

Sonic and Shadow both flew in front of it and blocked the planet with their arms protectively.

"You're stopping right here!" Sonic yelled, while Shadow grunted with effort. Both struggled to push the ARK back, even with their strength combined. They could now hear everyone's support clearly.

"You can do it Sonic!" Tails yowled.

"Give it all you've got Shadow!" Eggman shouted.

"If you don't the entire planet will be destroyed!" It was now Rouge's turn.

"Tough it out you guys!" Knuckles screeched, slight desperation in his voice.

"You can do it!" Amy encouraged them.

"You ready?" Shadow asked Sonic.

"You bet!" the golden-furred hedgehog replied defiantly. "Here we go!"

"CHAOS CONTROL!" they both screamed in unison.

In Chaos Control, the two hedgehogs witnessed the Space Colony ARK falling, Shadow with his arms crossed, yet again, and Sonic with a thoughtful gleam in his crimson gaze.

"The ARK, it's still falling," Shadow muttered. "Did the professor expect Chaos Control?"

"What now?" Sonic asked uncertainly. He wasn't about to just give up if there was a way. But he just couldn't think of anything. If Chaos Control wouldn't work, what would?

"If I use my full power, combined with the power of the Emeralds, maybe –" Shadow began, glancing at the gold rings on his wrist, but Sonic interrupted him.

"Shadow, that's crazy," he told him, seriousness and determination shining in his eyes. "I'm not letting you do that!"

"We have no choice. We don't have many options."

"Shadow, what the professor said I understand, but not this. We have choices, and we have options. You can't just throw away your life like it has no meaning. You have your own life. Don't follow what the professor said." Shadow remained silent, his eyes closed, and his head turned away. "Eggman took your life away when he released you, but you still have a chance to start new. You don't have to be the bad guy, and do what Eggman tells you to! You can still live a new life. One where you make your own decisions and choices."

Though he seemed oblivious to Sonic's speeches, Shadow was carefully thinking about what he was saying. In a way, his counterpart was right. He had never really been free to make his own decisions. Sure, he led the Dr. to the cannon, but that was what Gerald wanted him to do.

"You've just been used!" Sonic continued. "You've never experienced life. You've always been used. What about your life?" His life? He was an experiment, the Ultimate Lifeform. What kind of life was he supposed to have?

"My life is dedicated to all those on Earth. You and Maria helped me realize that," Shadow answered plainly. "And there's no other way, Faker. I'm the only one who can do this, since I am far more powerful than you."

Sonic's eyes gleamed with frustration, a trace of anger, and an unreadable emotion Shadow couldn't name. Then they narrowed and his next words were spoken softly.

"Having power, and knowing how to use it are two _completely_ different things."

"Don't force me to get you out of my way," Shadow threatened, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"Sorry, Shadow, but I just can't let you do this!" Sonic told him as he kicked Shadow's gut, effectively pushing him out of the ARK's way, the red-striped hedgehog holding his stomach in pain. He hadn't been expecting that, and he didn't anticipate Sonic to have such power, even though he was in his Super form. "You may have more power, Shadow, but I have far more experience with the Chaos Emeralds. And I'm not going to just stand here and let you throw away your life without doing anything. I'm sorry, and I don't want to leave everyone like this, but you need to live out your life," Sonic continued as his ally floated away from him. Shadow glanced up to meet his rival's gaze, which were full of determination and confidence, with a glint of sadness thrown into the mix.

"I just want to ask you for one thing. Can I count on you to protect everyone?" Shadow knew he was waiting on answer, so he relented and nodded. Besides, he was going to sacrifice himself just to same planet. But Sonic took his place. All Sonic gave was a small smile, one full of happiness and misery. Tears were building up at the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

"Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog. And take good care of everyone," the cobalt hero whispered, but Shadow still heard him.

"Sonic." That was the first time he had actually called his rival by his real name, and that'd be the only time said hedgehog would actually hear it.

Sonic had turned back to the Ark at this point, which had gotten dangerously close to him and Earth. He focused his mind, concentrating on his chaos abilities. They'd help him stop the Ark. But first, before doing anything, he took a deep breath, letting it all sink in. _This is it._

"CHAOS CONTROL!" he screamed, his full power higher than his normal power combined with Shadow's.

The Ark vanished out of sight, and reappeared back to its original place, safely outside the Earth's atmosphere.

"Live your life to the fullest, Shadow," Sonic whispered as he fell to the Earth, his golden quills and eye color going back to normal. He briefly glimpsed the Ark and the other hedgehog before his eyes closed forever as he awaited his coming doom, all exhilaration lost, and cold understanding in its place. But he wasn't complaining. He had wanted to do this after all, and he didn't regret it. He just hoped Shadow would keep his promise . . .

When everyone on Earth saw what had happened, they rejoiced and cheered for their two heroes. It was the same on the ARK. People high-fived, hugged, and even kissed, grateful they were still alive. Their lives would be back to normal soon. Everyone was happy, relieved, and alive.

All except one hedgehog, who willingly gave his life for the other. Of course, no one knew this. No one besides Shadow, that is.

The black hedgehog was now hovering outside of the ARK. He couldn't stop thing about all that transpired before Sonic had died. He glanced at the still Ark, where people were surely anticipating his arrival, though most of them were waiting, he knew, for Sonic. And he'd never return, just like a soldier who had died in a war, with a family excitedly expecting him, all for nothing but sorrow.

"Looks like you did it. You saved everyone, and your sacrifice will not be in vain," Shadow mumbled, thinking about how joyous everyone was now. "Give them a chance to be happy." He shook his head confusedly. "Was this your wish, Maria? Was this what you wanted? . . . Did Sonic fulfill that wish?"

He didn't expect an answer, and didn't get one, but it would've reassured him. It was Maria's wish for _him _to give them a chance, not Sonic. And once again, he was reminded of how much Sonic had reminded him of Maria, not that he would've said anything. It was their personalities that were so alike. Both so carefree, optimistic, and the trait that Sonic really exemplified near his end: kind-heartedness. They were so alike, and they both died. It was probably that alikeness that had somewhat attracted him to Sonic in a friendly way, as he really hadn't wanted to fight him, but then, like now, he didn't think he had a choice.

Besides, he had just ignored that part of his mind, so bent up on getting revenge on humanity. Why had he been so wrong this entire time?

Shadow sighed, looking from the ARK to the Earth and back again.

"Sonic, Maria, you both died for me, to give me a life. And from this day forth, that's exactly what I'm going to do," Shadow vowed, meaning every word. "This is my promise to you!"

After that oath, he teleported back into the ARK, to tell everyone the bad news, ready to begin a new life. He'd protect the people of Earth, maybe not as well as Sonic had, but he'd give it his best shot.

And lord knows he couldn't take his place in everyone's hearts, not that that was what he was trying to accomplish. He'd just be there, fighting the Dr. and he'd be there for Sonic's friends and others who knew him well, and attempt to comfort them to the best of his ability.

But if the world chooses to become his enemy, he will fight like he always has, no exceptions.

* * *

><p><strong>Smokestep: <strong>Alright, so the name of the video is "What if? Sonic Died? And Shadow Lived?", and it's made by shadow759. Go check out some of his videos, they're pretty funny. So, I hope you enjoyed, and that's really all I have to say, so see ya!


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